"Who are they to say?"- When Natalie Portman hit out on viewers for moralist comments about Léon: The Professional

At 43, Natalie Portman has plenty of things to look back at, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards, and a hoard of brilliant roles that cover everything from Black Swan (2010) to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999) to Thor (2011). However, one of her defining works still remains her first movie, Léon: The Professional, where Portman was only 12 years old.

Her character in the Luc Besson thriller had plenty of admirers, with many even understanding that she was on her path to becoming one of Hollywood's next big stars, but there were also multiple critics of the role. This was primarily because of the nature of the role, which led to many moralists pointing fingers at Natalie Portman's parents for allowing her to play it at the tender age of 12.

Natalie Portman discussed this in an interview with Interview Magazine, where she lashed out at the people who had criticized the role. Portman said:

"I hate when people do that. Who are they to say? Who are they to judge me or my parents? Their kids are probably also going around judging people like that, when in real life I’m not the one who’s playing with guns or smoking."

She went on to elaborate on her stance about these comments. She also spoke about this one particular critic who had penned down a harsh statement about the film and Natalie Portman's portrayal.

Léon: The Professional, also known as The Professional in the USA, has remained a classic over the years.

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"They’re the ones who have the problems"- Natalie Portman on people criticizing her for her role in Léon: The Professional

When the movie originally premiered, it was quite a new kind for the time, and hence many came forward to criticize the involvement of a kid in a grim thematic setting. However, these were mostly people who were looking for a reason to criticize the film, and as Portman pointed out in this interview, it was perhaps their own problem.

Portman elaborated:

"But a lot of those kinds of judgments come from what’s in people’s own minds. They’re the ones who have the problems. Like one critic who wrote a really mean article about how my parents should watch out that I don’t turn into Linda Blair. The article said something about how my “budding breasts were provocatively pointing out from a white t-shirt.” I sat there reading that article wondering, what movie did this guy see? [laughs]"

Adding to this statement about provocative dress in the film, Natalie Portman added:

"And as my friend’s mom said, “She can’t control what’s going on under there.” [laughs] But sometimes people’s reactions tell more about themselves. There was a lot in this movie that wasn’t pretty. But it is just a movie. It’s pretend."

Of course, films like Léon: The Professional and younger actors taking on mature roles have become much more common now. But there would still be many critics if given the opportunity.

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Natalie Portman is soon set to appear in Fountain of Youth, which is due later this year. She will also appear in The Gallerist, alongside Jenna Ortega soon.